While You Were Gone
by Labyrinth Runner
Summary: Lucy realizes that something has changed while Natsu was avoiding her. How will she tell him the news?


Lucy didn't know what to do as she stared at the results of the test in her hand. She knew she was getting a little bit bigger, but she just thought it was due to all the food she'd been eating. Well, now she knew why she was eating so much. She thought she was just getting her monthly "gift" from Mother Nature. Boy was she wrong. Thinking back on everything, she hadn't had it in a while. Three months to be exact, but she was so stressed out that she thought that was the reason why she hadn't gotten it. With all the missions and trying to deal with Natsu, she had plenty of reasons to be stressed and miss her period. However, this was not one of the reasons she had in mind. _Natsu_. How was she supposed to tell him that she was pregnant? He had been avoiding her like the plague for the past three months since they slept together. He wouldn't talk about it, the last time they went on a mission together was two months ago, and even then he was all business. How could she even expect to get close enough to tell him that she was going to have his child? Lucy sat on the edge of her bed and cried. The love of her life obviously didn't love her, and now she was pregnant by him. The gods really had it out for her. Maybe she should try to go on a job with him.

* * *

Lucy walked to the guildhall in a daze. She walked with her feet firmly on the ground, which was something she never did. She needed to start thinking about taking better care of herself for her child. She eventually made it to the guildhall to find her pink haired former lover sitting with her friends. Before he could see her and run away like he always did, she snuck around to the job board. Her goal was to get a job they could all go on so that he wouldn't say no. She scanned the board before settling on one she knew he couldn't refuse. The poster read, " _Team of six needed to take down an evil warlord._ " Yep, that'd do it. She took the poster off the board and walked over to her friends.

"Guy, I'm short on rent money. Will you go on this job with me?" she asked as she put the poster down on the table.

"I'm down," Gray answered.

"I'll go if it'll help you," Levy agreed.

"I'll go to make sure Shrimp is safe," Gajeel added in a gruff tone.

"I will come along as well," Erza conceded. Everyone turned to look at Natsu who was looking everywhere but at Lucy.

"Fine. I'll go," Natsu said as he got up from the table, "we'll leave tomorrow." With that, he left the guildhall. Lucy could feel tears prick her eyes as she watched his receding form. A hand reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Lu-chan, are you and Natsu alright?" Levy asked. Lucy turned to look at her friend as the tears threatened to fall.

"Oh, Lucy," Levy said as she pulled her friend towards her for a hug.

"What'd Salamander do?" Gajeel said as he came up behind them and awkwardly patted her back.

Levy looked up at her boyfriend and gave him a look that said " _don't go there_."

"Lu-chan, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to. Do you want to have a sleepover tonight, just the two of us?" Levy asked her friend. Lucy nodded.

"Alright, let's go back to your apartment then," Levy said as she led her friend back home.

* * *

Lucy was back to normal by the time they got to her apartment. Levy made her friend a cup of tea before sitting at the table across from her.

"So, what's up? You've been sad lately," her friend asked.

"I thought you said I didn't have to tell you," Lucy replied.

"I know you weren't going to tell me in the guildhall. So, what happened?"

" _Levy, I'm pregnant_." Levy nearly dropped her mug in shock.

"Wh-what? Since when?"

"Probably about three months now." Levy looked up at her friend with sad eyes.

"Does Natsu know?" Lucy just looked at her friend in shock.

"How did you-"

"Lucy, you've been in love with him for a long time. Anyone who watches you together would be able to see that. I'm more curious as to how you ended up pregnant and why he's avoiding you," Levy said as she took a sip of tea.

"I was drunk. We both were, and we slept together and it was one of the best nights of my life. Then, when I woke up, he was gone and he left a note saying ' _Luce, I'm sorry. Last night was a mistake. Let's forget about it_.' Since then, he's been avoiding me," Lucy sighed.

"When did you find out that you're…you know?"

"This morning. For whatever reason I just thought it was weird that I hadn't had my period in a while and I thought it was just stress, but then I thought back and thought maybe it was because of this. So I took the test and…well. Here we are," Lucy informed her. Levy whistled.

" _You have to tell him,_ " she advised.

" _I know_. But how? He won't even look at me."

"I'll figure it out, but for now let's get some sleep," Levy said as she took their mugs and put them in the sink. She and Lucy got settled in for the night and slept, unsure of what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

Lucy awoke in the morning with a sickness. She ran to the bathroom and barely made it before heaving up whatever was left in her stomach. Levy came in and wiped her hair away from her face before turning on the shower and handing her a toothbrush when she was done.

"Thanks, Levy," Lucy said as she accepted her friend's kindness.

"Don't worry about it. You've got a baby in there," Levy said as she poked her friends stomach, "I don't want my future niece or nephew to have problems growing." Levy smiled at her.

"I'm sure they'll love you, Levy," Lucy said after she finished brushing her teeth and got ready to shower. Levy left to make them some breakfast while Lucy showered. Lucy let the water run down her face to hide the stray tear that ran down her face. Could she do this? Could she be a mother? Lucy saw that the water was up to her ankles and realized it was time to get out. She shut the water off and started to wrap herself in a towel before she stopped. She dropped the towel and looked at herself in the mirror. She turned to the side and surveyed her belly. It was getting bigger. She had a little round top where there wasn't one before. She picked her towel up and wrapped it around herself before leaving the bathroom to get dressed. She pulled on tank top to find it to be tight. With a sigh she stripped back down and put on a dress before joining Levy for breakfast. After they finished and were ready they headed back to the guild to meet up with the others.

* * *

They piled onto the train and headed out to the small town where the warlord was. The dragon slayers were all done for the count, and surprisingly so was Lucy.

"Lu-chan, are you okay?" Levy asked as her friend was doubled over in pain.

"I'm fine," she groaned as she leaned against the window. The cold air was doing nothing for her. Thankfully, the trip was a short one and they were back on solid ground in no time.

* * *

"So where is this warlord?" Gray asked as Erza looked at the flier.

"It says here that he lives in the woods on the outskirts of town," Erza informed them.

"So, let's go get this over with," Natsu said as he headed off towards the woods.

"I think we should split up! We'll cover more ground that way," Levy suggested.

"I agree, let's go in pairs," Erza said, "Levy and Gajeel, you go north. Natsu and Lucy, you go east. Gray and I will go south."

"Why do _I_ have to go with Lucy?" Natsu grumbled. Everyone gasped and looked at him.

" _Because you two obviously have issues and you need to work them out_ ," Gray told him.

" _FINE_ ," Natsu said before grabbing Lucy's hand and dragging her off. His touch ignited a fire across her face as she realized how much she missed him. They walked in silence for what felt like hours. Lucy couldn't take it anymore.

"Why are you avoiding me?" she asked. He kept walking.

"I'm not."

"Natsu, we've barely seen each other for three months since…" she trailed off. He picked up his pace.

"Natsu, _look at me_ ," She cried out as she reached out to grab his arm. He stopped walking and turned, his eyes staring on where her hand was on his arm.

"What?" He asked in a harsh tone, "We've got a mission to accomplish and a warlord to beat. Can't this wait?" Lucy felt as though she'd been stabbed in the heart. She dropped her hand from his arm and he kept walking. She, however stayed put. He didn't turn back, instead he kept going, increasing the distance between their hearts with every step. Lucy sat down on a nearby stump and put her face in her hands. This was a stupid idea.

* * *

Suddenly, she heard a voice.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A beautiful young lady alone in the forest, must be my lucky day," a sickly sweet voice called. Lucy's head snapped up to scan the area around her before a man walked out. She recognized him. She knew him.

" _Erigor_?" She asked.

"In the flesh," he responded as he closed in on her, "And you, are coming with me." Lucy reached for her keys, but they were gone.

"Looking for these?" he asked as he swung her key ring on his finger. Lucy's eyes went wide. She was trapped. Erigor roughly grabbed her. He gagged her and threw her on his shoulder before walking back towards a cave. He chained her to the wall and looked at her with hungry eyes.

"You're going to be a fun toy to play with," he said as he ungagged her mouth," I hope you're a screamer."

"I refuse to give you that pleasure," Lucy spat.

"We'll see about that," he said with a smirk as he pulled out a knife. He walked towards her and began to slice her arms and face. Lucy bit her lip to keep the pain at bay, but then he started to use the knife to cut open her dress. Lucy called the only name she could think of.

"NATSU."

* * *

Natsu had been walking through the woods for an hour now and was getting nowhere when her heard her scream. He figured it wasn't anything, but then he smelled blood. Her blood. She was in trouble and she was calling for him. She was hurt and he wasn't there to protect her. He ran off in the direction of her scent while mentally berating himself.

"How could I have been so stupid? I left her by herself and now she's hurt. What kind of person am I? I let her be in danger because I didn't know how to tell her that I love her," he ranted. He reached the entrance to the cave and peered in. He did not like what he saw. Lucy was bleeding from various gashes. He dress had been ripped, exposing her undergarments. There were gashes on her stomach, her face, and her arms.

* * *

"It's a shame to let a body such as yours go to waste," Erigor said as he moved in. He grabbed her chin roughly with one hand and went to kiss her as his other hand slid up her chest. Natsu couldn't watch anymore. His hands lit on fire and he rushed at the man who was torturing his Lucy.

" _FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST,_ " Natsu yelled as he pummeled his adversary. He didn't give Erigor a chance to stand. He kept hitting him until he was unconscious and even then kept going.

"Natsu, _please, stop_ ," Lucy whispered. Natsu turned to look at her. Tears were flowing down her face. He broke the chains that held her and she fell into his arms. He held her close as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Lucy, it's okay now," he told her as he stroked her hair.

" _No_ , it's not," she told him.

"You're safe, that's what matters. Now, let's get you out of here," he picked her up bridal style and carried her out of the cave.

"I didn't think you'd come," she whispered as they walked. He stopped and looked down at her.

"Why would you think that?" he asked even though he already knew the answer.

"You've been avoiding me for three months. I had to get this mission just to talk to you. Do you know how much it hurts to have the person you love avoid you for three months?"

"Luce, I'm so sorry," he said as he set her down on a nearby rock.

"Why, Natsu, why did you avoid me?"

"Because I didn't know how to tell you that I love you and I was afraid that you only slept with me because you were drunk."

"Natsu, you love me?"

" _Yes_. I do."

"I love you, too," Lucy said as she hugged him. Natsu hugged her back and then looked at her.

"What is it?" she asked at his unreadable expression.

"Luce, don't take this the wrong way, but you're more…round than you used to be," Natsu said as he looked her up and down. Lucy blushed.

"That's why I took this mission," she told him.

"Because you wanted exercise?" Lucy hit him for that comment.

" _No, because I'm pregnant_!" She said and then immediately covered her mouth with her hands. Natsu's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

"Y-you're…pregnant? Since when?" He asked as his eyes settled on her stomach.

Lucy looked at the ground, "Three months, but I found out yesterday."

"Is it…?"

"Yours? Yes," Lucy said as she looked up at him. She searched his eyes for any hint of emotion.

"I'm going to be a father," Natsu said in disbelief, "Lucy, this is amazing!" He picked her up and twirled her around before slowing down and placing her on the ground. His hands didn't leave her waist. Slowly, their faces drew together and they kissed. Natsu's searing lips covered Lucy's as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Lucy, you've made me the happiest man alive, but there's one problem." Lucy's face went pale.

"What's the problem?" she asked with concern.

"You're not my wife. I want to raise our child in a family environment, and I want to be able to say that my wife and I are having a baby," he said with a smile.

"Are you asking me to marry you?"

"Yes."

"Yes." Lucy crashed her lips to his.

"You, Natsu, have made me the happiest girl alive," she told him.

* * *

 **A/N: Well. I tried xD**


End file.
